Here they are, nine necessary know-abouts for the week ahead. It’s the shamrock-&-corned beef B9:
➤ Up in Scotts Valley, they consider Alfred Hitchcock one of their own, which makes sense considering that Hitchcock and his wife, Alma, owned a 200-acre estate in the mountains north of town known as “Heart o’ the Mountains” and spent their leisure time there for more than 30 years. Which is why Scotts Valley is the natural home to the Alfred Hitchcock Festival, taking place this weekend at the Scotts Valley Cultural and Performing Arts Center. Friday kicks off with UC Santa Cruz film scholars Logan Walker and Shelley Stamp introducing a screening of Hitchcock’s “Rope,” the beguiling 1948 film that looks like it was shot in one continuous take. (That wasn’t possible back then.) Saturday continues with screenings of “The Wrong Man” and the silent film “The Lodger,” with more guests talking about Hitchcock’s work. And it closes Sunday with a focus on Hitchcock’s legacy in television. It’s a packed schedule, so if you just can’t get enough Hitch, get thee to Scotts Valley.
➤ Artistically at least, Rebecca Roudman is the unlikely offspring of Janis Joplin and Yo Yo Ma. A classically trained cellist who performs with two Bay Area symphony orchestras, she’s also the frontwoman for Dirty Cello. This perfectly branded band mixes Roudman’s cello chops with a decided non-classical blend of blues, boogie and rock ’n’ roll. Her trademark black cello comes out Friday at Kuumbwa.
➤ The middle of March is money time for Celtic/Irish-oriented bands, for obvious reasons, so let’s give thanks that Wake the Dead have a spot in their schedule for Felton Music Hall. On Saturday, the Bay Area’s premiere Grateful Dead Irish fiddle band turns Dead classics into spritely jigs and reels. Good luck choosing between wearing your green or your tie-dye.
➤ The local event has been sold out for weeks, which is no surprise given that we’re living in a big Rick Steves moment right now. Not only is he probably America’s most loved travel writer, he’s kicked up a ton of media attention with his illuminating new book, “On the Hippie Trail,” which is more of a memoir than traditional travelogue, telling stories of his adventure on the trail from Istanbul to Kathmandu in the 1970s. He’s at the Rio on Sunday afternoon.
➤ Saint Motel is a Los Angeles-based quartet that can best be described as “art pop,” a blend of often sunny and dreamy dance melodies mixed with plenty of on-stage visual elements evoking the bachelor-pad 1960s, all to create a big warm, enveloping hug of a show. Check in at The Catalyst on Tuesday.
➤ When it comes to Celtic rock in Northern California, the first name in the conversation has to be Tempest, the Bay Area band famous for putting Celtic music through its paces with rock ’n’ roll intensity. First formed way back in 1988, Tempest has played the Santa Cruz area countless times over the years. They make a triumphant return at Woodhouse Brewing on Friday.
➤ There’s something brewing over at Woodhouse on Saturday, too. Beginning at 3 p.m. and moving into the evening, the mini-fest called “Disco Limone” will feature DJs all day long, live painting and art-making, a reptile show (!) and all kinds of special treats. Where’s the party? There’s the party.
➤ The jazz world just doesn’t have too many artists more thoughtful and adventurous than tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman. It was 30 years ago that the Bay Area-born Redman — his dad was sax great Dewey Redman — first erupted onto the scene, and the Kuumbwa Jazz Center has been a reliable stopover for him throughout those three decades. He returns with his band for two Saturday night shows (which will, be aware, likely sell out).
➤ If you’re old enough to have lived through the late ’70s, the Bee Gees are probably embedded in your genes, whether you want them there or not. On Saturday night at the Rio, three gentlemen in gaudy gold jackets will conjure up the spirit of peak-disco Bee Gees in a show they’re calling “You Should Be Dancing,” after one of the Bee Gees’ more viral earworms. So, that crazy thing in your closet you never wear? It’s time to break it out.
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